I was driving around town today with the Hughes/Thrall remaster blazing out of the speakers, and I was struck by how much of a Police influence I hear in songs like "Where Did the Time Go" and "Hold Out Your Life". Pat's guitar playing has Andy Summers written all over it. And then there are some Gary Moore moments, for example, in the solos for "Muscle and Blood" and the aforementioned "Hold Out Your Life". As the album played out, I started to think about the similarities that Gary Moore's 'Run For Cover' album has to 'Hughes/Thrall'. 'RFC' is one of Gary's most diverse albums. "Military Man" has a solo break with much of the same feel as "Coast to Coast". "Nothing To Lose" and "Reach for the Sky" have the same attitude as "Beg, Borrow or Steal". And here's something more - Andy Johns, who produced 'Hughes/Thrall', shows up as producer on 'Run for Cover'. He worked on the songs which featured Glenn. In addition, Hughes/Thrall drummer Gary Ferguson appears on 'Run for Cover'.

Now, I've never read anything to the effect that Gary Moore was a Hughes/Thrall fan. This could all be coincidental. But I think that, even though their earlier attempt to form 'G-Force' didn't pan out, Gary saw what Glenn was capable of with the 'Hughes/Thrall' album, and decided that it would be more than worthwhile to give a collaboration another shot. The result was one of the best albums Gary released in the 80's, and one of my favorites to this day.

Yep, I'm pretty sure you're right on all counts. I seem to remember reading somewhere that Gary Moore was a huge fan of Hughes-Thrall and I definitely remember Glenn saying that Moore wanted to do a version of the Hughes-Thrall song 'Still The Night' (and consequently was bitterly disappointed when Glenn donated it to the original Phenomena project instead).

As a kind of linked musing, I've often thought that there was quite a connection between 'Run For Cover' and John Norum's 'Face The Truth' (both feature Glenn, both have a Thin Lizzy connection, both feature a guest appearance from the singer in the guitarist's previous band, both begin with a fast-rocker title track...even the monochrome covers with guitar have a similar feel...).

Yeah, all those that have already been mentioned.
I'm only 5 posts late...

You're absolutely right, Todd.
The similarities are all there.
While I was aware of the RFC connection, I like the Police thought a lot, especially concerning Where Did Our Time Go, this is a new approach for me. Excellent thought.
Also, the bass line in Beg, Borrow Or Steal had Sting written all over it, if you want to.

The sound of the remaster just blows me away.
I have been listening to this since it has arrived from Rock Candy on Monday, discovering new details with every listen.

I have a soft spot in my heart for 'Run For Cover', because it was the first Gary Moore album I ever bought, and it featured Glenn and Phil Lynott to boot! I think there are some amazing songs on it - Out in the Fields, Military Man, Nothing to Lose, Run for Cover, Reach for the Sky & Empty Rooms - and there are some lackluster songs (Listen to Your Heartbeat & Out of My System).

Gary's strengths have always been his songwriting and his breathtaking prowess as a soloist. He doesn't have a terribly wide range of guitar textures and intricate rhythms that a player like Andy Summers has - or in this case, that Pat Thrall has on 'Hughes/Thrall'.

I hear a few parallels between the solos on "Coast to Coast" and "Military Man", the spacey rhythm guitar of "Where Did the Time Go" and "Empty Rooms", or the chugging riffs of "Muscle and Blood" & "Nothing to Lose". That's not to say that Gary copied 'Hughes/Thrall', because he didn't. But I certainly think the album inspired him to delve into a variety of sounds that he hadn't before. And the result was refreshing.

'Run for Cover' isn't Gary's greatest solo effort, but there are some great moments on it. And like you say, there are some similarities between it and Glenn's work from the same period. Thankfully, Gary must have been inspired by Glenn's singing, because his own singing improved noticeably from that point on as well.

Yes, I still have a soft spot for Run For Cover as well....listening to it makes me flash on living in San Antonio back in 1986. I had bought Gary's previous two solo albums at the time as well. With much muddy water under the bridge, I still like parts of Corridors Of Power but Victims Of The Future is largely snicker inducing now. Gary was trying to be/pushed into being heavy metal..just look at the picture of him on the back of VOTF.....Shapes Of Things is still cool but Teenage Idol is a shaggy dog story and Devil In Her Heart is just metal mush....and forget the vocal; think Ian Gillan trying to imitate Edith Bunker...scary! Murder In The Skies may have been topical at the time but hasn't aged well...even Mister Moore wrinkled his nose at the recent suggestion in his Classic Rock interview that he perform it nowadays.

On the positive side, Empty Rooms still has a majestic grace to it that the remake lacks, to my ears anyway.

So what does our guitar hero do? He dumps his chick and sells his car, buys himself a hot guitar..whoops...loses the screechy vocal stylings, buffs up his songwriting and brings in a bevy of producers and guests to add color to the proceedings. Without reaching for the CD, I remember Peter Collins (Rush) Beau Hill (Ratt) Andy Johns (Led Zeppelin) and Mike Stone (Asia) being behind the board while Phil Lynott and Glenn Hughes elbow for space behind the microphone.

Military Man is still my favorite track off that album....Phil Lynott does a heartfelt vocal and Gary's solo after the bridge verse is one of those "pick the needle up and play it again" moments...for about two bars, his sax like phrasing is pure Allan Holdsworth. That album is a "time piece" for me....good memories!

The CD's I have of those albums were done by Relativity records back in the late 80's...I bought them when i lived in CA. How do the remasters sound? Is there a big improvement in the sound as a whole?

When RFC first came out I was a little disappointed with the songs on the album. But after a while the songs grew.
My only let down is today is the fact that Gary sang on some of the songs instead of Glenn.

Blues came before From now on.

From now on is not my favourite. It has some really good songs on it. My absolute favourite is Feel - with Pat Thrall on some of the tracks.

Yes, I remember reading how Thrall was totally into the Police and Summers sound. The Hughes/Thrall track 'First step of love' even sounds like Copeland is playing on it. Everyone was influenced by the Police in the late 70's, early 80's, including Michael Shreive, who had a band that practically modelled themselves after the Police, including a singer that sounded like Sting. Shrieve wasn't happy with that band for that reason.

Gary Moore cites favorite players as Pat Thrall, Jeff Beck, Neal Schon. Least favorite player: Jimmy Page. I remember reading how impressed he was with 'hughes/thrall' album and it must have increased his desire to work with Hughes. I also remember reading that Moore thought Hughes' version of 'still the night' on the Phenomena album was atrocious.

Thanks to all posts that have detailed the many nuances of any musician collaborations and the who influenced who question that arises. I have it on order and look forward to the influences the posts will have me hear!!!